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Genesis 15 opens with God telling Abram, “Fear not, I am your shield.” Isaiah 7 uses similar language when Isaiah tells King Ahaz to stay calm and not fear two threatening kings.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 15:1
Hebrew Bible
1 After these things the Lord’s message came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 2 But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram added, “Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”
Isaiah 7:4
Hebrew Bible
3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear Jashub and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool that is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! Don’t be afraid. Don’t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise. 6 They say, “Let’s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we’ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king.” 7 For this reason the Sovereign Lord says: “‘It will not take place; it will not happen. 8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.Within 65 years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. 9 Ephraim’s leader is Samaria, and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah.If your faith does not remain firm, then you will not remain secure.’”
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Notes and References
... Another possible origin for Isaiah’s form of prophetic speech lies in royal oracles of salvation for the king in times of national danger. There is an oracle delivered to Esar-haddon, the seventh-century Assyrian king, where the goddess Ishtar says, ‘For days to come and for eternal years I have established your throne beneath the heavens . . . Fear not, O king! I have not rejected you.’ There is an Old Testament parallel in Genesis 15, which begins, ‘The word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield”’ (15:1). Isaiah might thus be using a form which assures Ahaz of the security of his throne and his dynasty, and telling him that he must have confidence in the power of the God who promises these things to bring them about. However, neither of these ancient parallels is quite equivalent to the message of Isaiah. Isaiah is not saying, in either crisis, that there is no need to fear; rather he is saying that deliverance is conditional on not fearing: ‘if you will not believe, you will not be established’ ...
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